Organic Body Care

Aahh, yes. I now smell a little like patchouli, which as I've said, is a wonderful aroma to me. Not everyone likes it, but maybe my enjoyment of patchouli  makes it easier to assume the mantle of hippiedom. Above is my nearly complete body care regimen, made from herbs, oils, vinegar, nuts and seeds. Tree-hugger enough for ya? I've got lavender cleansing cream, oatmeal-almond-sunflower seed-peppermint-rosemary face scrub, and lavender facial toner and body mist. I've got chamomile basil shampoo and peppermint rosemary vinegar rinse (for dry, itchy scalp). And finally, I've got calendula and rose body lotion with patchouli. I'm in heaven.

Next up, I need to make deodorant, and I'd like to dabble in first aid remedies, including ointments. There's a diaper rash in the house that's hanging around rather unpleasantly.

If anyone cares, I had to give up the baking soda and plain vinegar rinse for my hair regimen. Not only was I not very happy with the results, but I also realized I like my hair to smell good. It does now. Once a week I'm using a lavender and almond oil treatment that leaves a wonderful aroma for a couple of days, and the shampoo and vinegar combo also leaves a clean, herbal scent. My hair feels clean and soft, which it did not with the baking soda. And, I can use the gentle shampoo every day if I need to, which I also was not able to do with the baking soda. I might need to add a light conditioner as my hair gets longer to help tame flyaways, but right now I just rub my recently patchouli-lotioned hands over my hair to help tame it, and that's working great.

All of the above recipes came from one of these two books: Organic Body Care Recipes and Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair: Natural and Healthy Personal Care for Every Body.

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 Update: I'm not so happy with the lotion. I love the patchouli scent, which I should point out is a very mild aroma, but it doesn't really moisturize. I think it's a manufacturing error: the lotion needs to be whipped or beaten for a while in order to emulsify the oils, and I had trouble with this step. The oils have separated out and I think what I'm left with is rubbing my hands with the herbal infusion water and very little oil, which doesn't do much for moisturizing. Hmmm.
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